Heaters or stoves with some means of feeding combustible particulate material thereto are well known. Generally, such heaters have been utilized with pulverized coal or some similar combustible particulate material as a fuel source. At one point, such heaters were replaced by oil or gas fueled heaters when gas and oil were in plentiful supply. Due to the increasing cost of gas and fuel oil, increasing attention is again being directed to alternative fuel sources such as wood or other combustible residues. Currently, particular attention is being given to heaters of the type that use preprocessed pelletized fuel sources produced from wood waste, agricultural residue, and the like.
The pelletized fuels are generally burned within a sealable firebox with gases necessary for combustion, usually air, being supplied. In order to effectively provide sufficient amounts of the combustion gases to the pelletized fuel, it is known that the fuel can be supported and distributed on a perforated plate commonly known as a grate with the combustion gases being introduced below the grate and allowed to flow upward through the perforations and into the burning fuel.
The utility of the grate may be adversely effected by ash and clinkers that are produced by the combustion of the pelletized fuel. Often the formation of ash and clinkers is so extensive that the perforations in the grate become clogged or covered, thus restricting and possibly eliminating the flow of combustion gases into the fuel. This leads to reduced heat output and burning efficiency.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for the combustion of solid particulate fuel that utilizes the advantages described above with regard to a perforated grate without suffering from the drawbacks associated with the formation of ash and clinkers.